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Millennium Force
Millennium Force is an Intamin AG sit-down giga roller coaster located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, USA. It was the park's fourteenth roller coaster since Blue Streak in 1964. When built-in 2000, it was the first complete circuit roller coaster to exceed 300 feet in height and was briefly the tallest full-circuit roller coaster in the world until the opening of Steel Dragon 2000 in August of 2000. Also, it is the second-longest steel roller coaster in North America after Fury 325 at Carowinds. It is also the first roller coaster to utilize a cable lift system, rather than a traditional chain lift. Millennium Force constantly receives high ratings from the Golden Ticket Awards, switching between 1st and 2nd with the Intamin hyper coaster, "Bizarro", located at Six Flags New England. General Information Millennium Force was opened at Cedar Point in 2000, named for its introduction in the new millennium. The coaster broke 8 records by itself and helped its park break 5 others (see below). The coaster was Cedar Point's 14th and was the very first roller coaster to use a cable lift hill rather than the traditional chain lift. An 800-horsepower motor located below the lift hill turns a set of sprocket gears to operate this machine. Millennium Force features 3 trains: one red, one yellow, and one blue. Each car has a capacity of 4 people, and each train carries 9 cars, allowing for a capacity 36 people in 18 rows of 2. Design The catch car for Millennium Force's cable lift carries the train up the 310-foot hill at a 45-degree angle in a little over 20 seconds by latching onto the middle of the train. The train then drops 300-feet at an 80-degree angle, reaching a top speed of 93 mph. It then climbs a 169-foot overbanked turn at 122 degrees. Then the train travels through the first tunnel and over a 182-foot parabolic airtime hill, passing over a lagoon and down onto Millennium Island. While on Millennium Island, the train completes a 105-foot, 360-degree helix, followed by a left overbanked turn and then a small right-hand turn before traveling over another airtime hill to exit the island. The train then travels over a smaller airtime hill and into another tunnel, right next to the first tunnel from earlier in the ride. A final airtime hill, right next to the queue, is crested. The train finishes the ride by traveling through a 68-foot overbanked turn over the queue and stops at the brake run. Riders exit the train at the exit platform, and the train then returns back to the station. Rankings and Records Golden Ticket Awards: Best Steel Roller Coaster World Records When Millennium Force opened, it broke 13 world records: Coaster Records #First-ever complete circuit roller coaster to top 310 feet (91m) #Tallest complete circuit roller coaster (310 feet (94 m)) #Longest drop on a complete circuit roller coaster (300 feet (91 m)) #Fastest complete circuit roller coaster (93 miles per hour (150 km/h)) #Steepest non-inversion banked turn on a roller coaster (122°) (Half Corkscrew) #First roller coaster to utilize a cable lift system #First roller coaster to feature magnetic braking system #Most records broken by a roller coaster Park Records #Most rides at an amusement park (68/75) #Most roller coasters at an amusement park (14/16) #Most complete-circuit roller coasters over 200 feet (61 m) high at an amusement park (the first park to have more than one) (2/4) #Most steel roller coasters at an amusement park (12/15) #Most feet of roller coaster track at an amusement park (44,013 ft/53,963 ft) Note: (Record at 2000/Current Statistic) Trivia *Millennium Force was at some time the 6th fastest roller coaster, 7th tallest roller coaster, and 6th longest roller coaster in the world, the 2nd tallest and 2nd fastest roller coaster at Cedar Point, and also the longest. *Millennium Force has serviced 12 million riders since its opening. *It is often claimed that part of Canada is visible on a clear day from the top of the lift hill. This is theoretically possible (Pelee Island, Ontario, 20 miles; horizon from the top of the lift hill, 21 miles), but the view is facing in the wrong direction (northwest instead of north) and even if it were facing north, Kelly Island, Ohio gets in the way. *Its tagline is: "The future is riding on it." *Part of the area of the park occupied only by Millennium Force's track is known as "Millennium Island." *At night, the track is lit up by neon lights. *This coaster is one of the few that requires riders to buy lockers in the queue to store loose items. *During "Halloweekends," some sections of the track travel through mist. Photo Gallery Millennium Force Drop.JPG|The massive first drop. Category:Intamin AG Category:Giga roller coasters Category:2000